The following is provided by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
On May 13th, 2024, y the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is officially launching the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) system internally to be used as a compliance and validation tool by our Trade Operations employees. This is a significant milestone as it marks an important step towards CARM becoming the official system of record that importers and other trade chain partners will use for years to come.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our industry partners who have worked tirelessly with us on this project from its inception throughout the years. So much has been accomplished to arrive at this point and we thank you for your efforts and dedication. Our collective efforts have resulted in more than 81,000 clients registered on the CARM Client Portal, and considerable progress in the testing and certification of our Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Application Program Interface (API) participants.
Many of you were ready for the May 13th implementation and might have questioned the need to wait until October 2024 to launch externally. Primarily, the concerns that we communicated on April 19th regarding possible labour disruptions impacting the launch of CARM have not changed. Our employees are the backbone of the Agency and critical to a successful external launch of CARM. We need to be confident that they will be available to support both each other and our trade chain partners when CARM is launched externally.
Further, the link between CARM and the Canada Revenue Agency means that the next scheduled window to migrate a major IT change is October 2024, which is the earliest we will be able to launch CARM externally. We are committed to making the best use of the time between now and October to ensure CARM is a success.
As the implementation of CARM has evolved, the engagement between the Agency and our trade chain partners will also naturally evolve. We welcome this transitional period ahead of the external implementation in October as an opportunity for renewed focus. We will revitalize the way we engage with you, with forward-looking objectives, and will be in touch with you to engage on next steps in the coming weeks. Our focus during this period will be to provide clarity and direction on key topics such as Release Prior to Payment (RPP) and written security agreements; the transitional measures and process on the use of the customs broker business number (BN); and contingency planning. In addition, we will continue our efforts to raise awareness and onboard more small to medium businesses so they are ready to use CARM in October. We look forward to working with you on these priorities.
Finally, we would like to call your attention to a newly issued Customs Notice (CN 24-18) that details interim processes, such as obtaining an importer / exporter (RM) number: Customs Notice 24-18: CARM: Changes to the Registration and Maintenance of Program Accounts for Importers and Exporters (RM) (cbsa-asfc.gc.ca)
Thank you again for your collaboration and engagement over the last several years, and we look forward to working with you toward a successful external launch in October 2024.